The energy-water-food-waste-land nexus in a GIS-based biofuel supply chain design: A case study in Fars province, Iran

The concentration on producing clean energy such as biofuels in recent years has had an impact on some of the natural resources that humans use, such as water, food, and land. In this paper, a two-phase approach to design and optimize a biofuel supply chain based on Jatropha Curcas L. oil and used cooking oil (UCO) is presented by considering the nexus between energy, water, food, waste, and land (EWFWL) in order to protect natural resources and create environmental security. In the first phase, the most appropriate sites for Jatropha cultivation are determined by considering the accessibility, geological, environmental and climatic criteria, using the Geographic Information System (GIS). In the second phase, a novel multi-objective model is designed considering the EWFWL nexus and solved using the Torabi-Hassini method. The model is validated using real data from Fars province, Iran, as well as a sensitivity analysis. In this study, some of main contributions are identifying suitable Jatropha cultivation sites in Fars province, Iran; development an innovative optimization model regarding EWFWL nexus; and considering financial parameters and global distribution along with EWFWL nexus. According to the results, the sale of biofuel to local and foreign consumers accounts for the largest proportion of network revenues, contributing for 59.25% of total revenue. Furthermore, increasing the use of UCOs for biofuel production will reduce Jatropha output, and consequently reduce water, land use, and increase food security. If UCO shortage occurs, more lands will be dedicated to Jatropha farms and food-loss and water consumption increase. By focusing on biofuel production over UCO, policymakers can produce less Jatropha and decrease the use of land for Jatropha cultivation. Furthermore, effluent-based irrigation can be more widely used to save fresh water by irrigating Jatropha farms.

Automated summary

The concentration on producing clean energy such as biofuels has had a significant impact on natural resources like water, food, and land. This paper presents a two-phase approach to design and optimize a biofuel supply chain, taking into account the nexus between energy, water, food, waste, and land (EWFWL) to protect natural resources and create environmental security. The study identifies suitable cultivation sites for Jatropha Curcas L. oil, designs a multi-objective model considering the EWFWL nexus, and validates the model using real data from Fars province, Iran. The findings highlight the importance of considering financial parameters and global distribution in biofuel production and suggest strategies to reduce Jatropha output and increase food security.